Most questions ever asked on here about steep driveways, have to do with the driveway sloping from the house to the street. We actually have the opposite problem. When we had our TT stored at home, we had it stored on the side of the house in the yard. It was always a pain in the but pulling it out. We would have to watch the weather and pull it out early if it looked like the ground might get wet. We had to use the 4 wheel drive to pull out the heavy TT due to the slick grass. I know if we had a hard packed gravel drive or paved drive, that it would of been easier and better. But I always wondered about the slope of it. Not sure if they could get the actual parking pad of it level or not. We never plugged the camper in or used the fridge until we pulled it out to the road. With lowering the tongue all the way down, it was a little out of level. I think if I could get the wheels raised 5 or 6 inched, that it would of been a big help. The other day, I was in Autozone and saw these ramps. I wonder if using a set of them on the TT wheels would of worked. What do you think? What about on somethign like a Class C in case we get one? I know I would need two sets of them due to dual wheels. They are rated at 16,000 lbs and a Class C would be in the 14,000 lb range. Of course our TT was a bit less than that.So what do you think? Any suggestions for a parking pad on the side of the house on a slope? It may be somethign we might do anyways to get the the pop up and utility trailer out of the driveway anyway. Would hard pack gravel give enough traction, over say grass?

wbwood wrote:Most questions ever asked on here about steep driveways, have to do with the driveway sloping from the house to the street. We actually have the opposite problem. When we had our TT stored at home, we had it stored on the side of the house in the yard. It was always a pain in the but pulling it out. We would have to watch the weather and pull it out early if it looked like the ground might get wet. We had to use the 4 wheel drive to pull out the heavy TT due to the slick grass. I know if we had a hard packed gravel drive or paved drive, that it would of been easier and better. But I always wondered about the slope of it. Not sure if they could get the actual parking pad of it level or not. We never plugged the camper in or used the fridge until we pulled it out to the road. With lowering the tongue all the way down, it was a little out of level. I think if I could get the wheels raised 5 or 6 inched, that it would of been a big help. The other day, I was in Autozone and saw these ramps. I wonder if using a set of them on the TT wheels would of worked. What do you think? What about on somethign like a Class C in case we get one? I know I would need two sets of them due to dual wheels. They are rated at 16,000 lbs and a Class C would be in the 14,000 lb range. Of course our TT was a bit less than that.So what do you think? Any suggestions for a parking pad on the side of the house on a slope? It may be somethign we might do anyways to get the the pop up and utility trailer out of the driveway anyway. Would hard pack gravel give enough traction, over say grass?That type of ramp will work fine for doing a oil change, but will not work well at all raising a trailer. Sure it can raise one axle fine, but not both, and you would need to raise both, to do the job properly, and not overload one tire and have almost no load on the other axle's tire. Unless you can fit the tire raising block in between the axles, - little hope of that in this case. Still it would take 4 of the ramps to raise a twin axle trailer. If you have a single axle trailer, take back all I wrote, it will work with a single axle trailer.You really should build something out of wood. Make the top layer 2X12, and it will be easy to get the tires close enough to center on it. Make it 3-4 feet long,and both axles can be on the same ramp. Fred.

I was thinking more along the lines of a single axle. Like a class c. Although dual ly and would need two sets for all 4 rear tires.

Brian, Save the money on the ramps. You can build better and cheaper by just cutting and spiking together some treated lumber. You can then make then just exactly as wide and tall as you really want and you can even change them if think (later) that they need to be different. If you do talk to a contractor about making a level pad. Get him to show you his laser level. Oh, and have him dig and not fill because any fill will settle. Matt

Matt_Colie wrote:Brian, Oh, and have him dig and not fill because any fill will settle. MattYou realize that concrete is poured over gravel fill every day with no issues?

GMT830 wrote:Matt_Colie wrote:Brian, Oh, and have him dig and not fill because any fill will settle. MattYou realize that concrete is poured over gravel fill every day with no issues?I think the point was to say that it's better to dig than to fill, but yes, a properly constructed concrete pad would be fine.I was told, when we had a pool installed, that you don't (if possible) put any load bearing on fill, unless it's had plenty of time to settle, or had been compacted properly.

Different steep driveway question | Good Sam Community

wbwood
Explorer
May 28, 2013
Thanks Fred! I thought it was called crush and run, but have seen others call it crusher run on the forum here. So I thought I might of been wrong.
Golden_HVAC
Explorer
May 28, 2013
Hi,

I would suggest a wall of some sort, that will give you a place to put some fill into the yard, so that you will have a level area. Have some slots in teh bricks, so that the water from the uphill side can drain through the wall.

By having 1" minus gravel near the wall, then replace the top soil above the gravel, so you will be able to plant grass again would be a solution. This would mean taking up about 12" of your top soil, putting it on the side, building the wall, then having a couple large truckloads of gravel put down, then relocate the top soil back to it's original location, yet 12 - 20" higher than before.

For a wall, I would suggest a C shape wall, buried about 18 - 24" into the soil, and curve the center of the C into the uphill section, so any water coming down the hill will curve around the wall. Make the wall about 24" - 36" above ground level, and then bury it on both sides, so that the wall will not have pressure on only one side of it. The downhill side can be a slope 45 degrees, in other words 36" wide fill for 36" of hieght. The uphill side can be steep at first, then level out closer to your parking area.

The other fill material is called "Crush and run" in construction terms. It is a mixture of sand, small gravel, and larger stones that are easy to compact to 2000 PSI - firm enough to use under the foundation of a house. They have to test the soil under the home before pouring a slab, and building the house.

Good luck with the project.

Fred.
wbwood
Explorer
May 28, 2013
GMT830 wrote:
30%? Really?

You're going to have to watch approach, breakover, and departure angles.....

And you'll want to be lined up perfectly when backing down. Because you won't stop on gravel at that angle.

Approach, breakover and departure wouldn't be an issue. Like I stated earlier, this is over 100' distance. We've back down our 35' TT (11,000 GWR) into that area just on the grass without issue.

If I can find some pictures, I will post them. If not, I will try and take some over the next couple of days.
wbwood
Explorer
May 28, 2013
The pad would not be against the house. It would be about 8-10' away from the house.

I thought about the retaining wall idea. Wouldn't be all that high. No more than a couple feet. There is an other house in the neighborhood that has a large class A on the side of their house, but their drive is level. But I do believe the pad is done with a retaining wall as the yard slopes some. I will have to go and check it out closer.
wintersun
Explorer II
May 27, 2013
I had a pad poured and retaining wall constructed at my house with this situation. Concrete was cheaper than doing paving stones. I had tried crushed rock over the dirt but this was not effective though it made a good base for the concrete pad when it was added. A third alternative that works well are the ornamental looking cast concrete pieces that are specially designed to allow water to pass through and into the ground.

http://www.concretenetwork.com/concrete/porous_concrete_pavers/

With a Bobcat a person could excavate out the area for the contrete "pavers" in under an hour. Pavers are best bought by the pallet load and not at a retail paving supply. Put sand over the area for maximum drainage and to keep the water running as it now does. What you want to avoid is a solid concrete "catch basin" that funnels water to the side of your house - that would create a big problem that would be expensive to fix.

I would recommend making the area for the trailer at least 2 feet wider on the sides and at long enough that your tow vehicle's wheels and the trailers wheels are never on the grass.
GMT830
Explorer
May 27, 2013
30%? Really?

You're going to have to watch approach, breakover, and departure angles.....

And you'll want to be lined up perfectly when backing down. Because you won't stop on gravel at that angle.
wbwood
Explorer
May 27, 2013
The grade down at the bottom is about 7-8%...going up higher and tying in to the drive, you are look at close to 30%.

I think my main concern is having something suitable to drive it on that I will be able to drive it up the hill without issue.
GMT830
Explorer
May 26, 2013
If the gravel is well compacted it should be fine for a gentle slope. Depending on local lingo, "inch minus" crushed gravel is just about the best for top few inches. It will contain particles the size of a grain of sand up to stones an inch in "diameter". And all the pieces will have sharp square edges so they pack in nice and tight and lock together. If you need to build up more than a foot you might want something a little more bony for the base.
wbwood
Explorer
May 26, 2013
Would I have issues pulling out something like a class c on something like gravel or crusher run? It's less sloped towards the bottom of the yard. The biggest slop would be closer to where it would tie in with the existing concrete driveway.

Like I said, just on the grass I would need to put the truck in four wheel drive to pull out the TT about 90% of the time. Not sure if a cement driveway would be feasible due to cost. I'm probably looking at about 100'' in length to tie in to the driveway.

At the end where the wheels would sit, it would need about 18" of rise in the back to be perfectly level. I wouldnt want it perfectly level due to drainage. With a slight gradual buildup the last 20' of a maximum of a foot at the end, I think it would be doable. I can level the last six inches.
Harvey51
Explorer
May 26, 2013
My compliments to those of you who can safely use those ramps for oil changes. They worked well for me most of the time, but a single drive over the high end caused me to switch to pieces of plank.

For parking an RV by the house I would order up a $10 000 concrete pas if money was no object. Otherwise, a few wheelbarrows of dirt and gravel where the wheels go would be excellent.

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